An interesting development relevant to Ontario’s public libraries: News Release Premier Wynne Appoints Special Advisor on Community Hubs March 20, 2015 Karen Pitre Will Chair Advisory Group Premier Kathleen Wynne has appointed Karen Pitre as Special Advisor on Community Hubs. Pitre will chair the new Premier’s Community Hub Framework Advisory Group. The members of the advisory group will be announced in the coming weeks. A community hub can be a school, a neighbourhood centre or another public space that offers coordinated services such as education, health care and social services. The advisory group will review provincial policies and develop a framework for adapting existing public assets to become community hubs. The Community Hub Framework Advisory Group will: Gather input from Ontarians Foster partnerships among community organizations and other groups to ensure that the framework addresses local needs Examine best practices in Ontario and other jurisdictions. Delivering coordinated public services through community hubs will ensure these services better meet the needs of children, youth and seniors. Providing high-quality accessible and efficient community services is part of the government’s plan for Ontario. The four-part plan is building Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, building new public infrastructure like roads and transit, creating a dynamic, supportive environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan. QUICK FACTS Ontario’s first poverty reduction strategy committed to the development of a Community Hub Program to respond to community needs related to poverty reduction and student achievement. In her mandate letters, the Premier tasked selected ministers to participate in the development of a policy on community hubs, including the...

This is an amazing development that will provide new, modern, and innovative infrastructure for Ontario public libraries and all library staff to manage professional development, career paths and more. FOPL and OLA/OLBA are also leading on board development using funding from the Culture Development Fund. Building on One Place to Look and Leadership by Design, we expect the first two online learning modules to be released this spring. More modules will follow over the coming years that align with the four year Board cycle. Coming April 2015!LearnHQ is the one place to look for public library training, and will offer Ontario public library staff and board members flexible learning opportunities and current professional information. After many months of work, the site is almost ready, and we will “go live” April 1! Different learning opportunities will be rolled out throughout April, and will include webinars, workshops, and some recorded materials from our partner organizations OLA, FOPL, OLS-North, and SOLS. We’re also excited about our future phases on LearnHQ, which will include online mentorship, personalized learning plans, and opportunities for libraries to develop and share their own online training courses. Look for these features and more in the next year. We’ll be sending more information how access and use the site in April. In the interim, if you have any questions, please contact Rosanne Renzetti, LearnHQ project lead, at rrenzetti@sols.org, 1-800-387-5765 ext...

Via Ottawa Public Library: M. Ernest Coté was an OPL board member from 1977 – 1987; he was Chair of the board in 1981 and 1982, and again in 1986 and 1987 and was well regarded. In fact in the board meeting of January 19, 1988 states “On behalf of the Board, Dr. Colvin expressed her thanks and gratefulness to Mr. E.A. Coté for the remarkable leadership and steadfastness displayed over the year he was involved with the OPL Board and that he would be presented with an award at the Ottawa City Hall on February 3 at 2:30 p.m. in recognition of his exemplary leadership while on the Board of the Ottawa Public Library and of a life devoted to community services” · He was a co-founder of the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library http://www.ottawapubliclibraryfriends.ca/en/page/home · He co-created the Friends of the Library Trust Fund with the Honorable Mitchell Sharp. · In recognition of FOPLA’s 25th anniversary in 2006, Mr. Côté co-created the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Scholarship along with FOPLA, providing a generous donation to establish the fund. This scholarship was created to benefit students of the Information Studies program at the University of Ottawa. This scholarship supports future librarians from the National Capital Region to receive funding support on a yearly basis. Ottawa Sun: Cote was big Ottawa library booster http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/03/06/cote-was-big-ottawa-library-booster Globe & Mail:...

Library Journal’s LEAD THE CHANGE! Coming to the Vaughan Public Libraries on Tuesday May 12th http://lj.libraryjournal.com/lead-the-change/programs/engagement This all-new 2015 Lead the Change program is designed to optimize the contribution and impact of the individual library staff member, including librarians, support staff, public-facing service representatives, administration, and IT/technical services. Using a “flipped learning” approach, participants receive materials prior to the workshop allowing time to review, learn, and complete assignments at their own pace. At the live session, participants are then able to spend more time applying key concepts, checking their understanding and extending their learning through interaction, collaboration and workshop activities. David Bendekovic, program developer and lead instructor at the Pennsylvania Library Association Academy for Leadership Studies, and his co-facilitators, including recent LJ Librarians of the Year and Movers and Shakers, will act as guides, immersing themselves in the learning experience with participants. Participants at every stage in their career will benefit from learning their strengths and how they can contribute to their library’s success. Each attendee will walk away with a Personal Action Plan for success, and also get access to The Commons, our online alumni community where librarians can share resources, make connections, and crowdsource solutions to their challenges. This program with be co-facilitated by Margie Singleton, Chief Executive Officer, Vaughan Public Libraries and Moe Hosseini-Ara, Director of Culture, City of Markham. For more information, full day’s agenda, and a link to event Registration please visit http://lj.libraryjournal.com/lead-the-change/programs/engagement Hosts: Vaughan Public Libraries with the support of LSC Libraries Services Centre http://www.lsc.on.ca/ DATE: Tuesday May 12 TIME: 9:30 AM through 4 PM LOCATION: Vaughan City Hall | Level 100 |...

University of Toronto iSchool Library Statistics Symposium in partnership with FOPL After last summer’s successful symposium on library measurements we have decided to do it again! This year will build on last year’s presentations (see the presentations under the archives link on the website http://www.metricsandlibraries.org/2014-program.html). We will also have available and in-person our key FOPL consultants on the projects that matter so much to Ontario’s libraries including the first public presentations on updated Ontario public library datasets from 2011-2013 and the results of our massive Market Probe (online and telephone) public opinion poll on Ontarians attitudes towards public libraries. This is a two day symposium that shouldn’t be missed. To register visit this website: http://www.metricsandlibraries.org/ FOPL members are eligible for a discount. May 11-12, 2015 Defining New Metrics for Library Success http://www.metricsandlibraries.org/ All libraries are challenged to communicate their value in uncertain fiscal and changing environments. Our communities, boards, management and institutions are asking for stronger and better measurements of our impact and value to help them with decision making and prioritization. Are your measurement strategies up-to-date? Are you up-to-date on the latest in statistical profiles of libraries in Ontario and Canada? Are we measuring the community engagement and learning or just counting transactional stats? What’s the next step in measurement and what do we know about peer analyses now? If these questions interest you and your team, then this is the symposium for you to explore new ways to think about measurement as well as to address our future challenges. This symposium is about the various metrics and measures the library sector and discipline uses to manage what it is doing (its...